Friday, August 29, 2014

SELLING MISSILE OFFENSE

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work says he wants South Korea’s missile defense (MD) system to be ‘extremely interoperable’ with the U.S. system.

“We want the Korean Air Missile and Defense (KAMD) to be independent and strong,” he told a news conference at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek on August 21, “What we hope is to have an extremely interoperable system between the United States’ theater missile defense and the KAMD.“

‘Extremely Interoperable’ – What does it mean?

The US government has said in the past that it is considering the deployment of exo-atmospheric Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors in South Korea to protect U.S. forces there. South Korea, however, has said it prefers to develop its own national Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system, and so far has not agreed to be be part of a joint system with the United States and Japan.

THAAD deployment in South Korea has become a hot-button issue in recent US-South Korea diplomatic relations.

Although Work’s recent statement seems to imply that the United States will respect South Korea’s independent MD system, ‘interoperability’ really means it will become integrated into the U.S. system, according to Defense Plus 21 Editor Kim Jong-dae.

“The only way the two systems can be ‘extremely interoperable’,” says Kim, “is through the deployment of the THAAD C2 (command and control) system in Korea.” For all intents and purposes, according to Kim, “it would mean the deployment of THAAD in South Korea.”

THAAD in Korea – Would Provoke China and Make South Korea a U.S. Outpost

THAAD, the core of U.S. anti-ballistic missile defense system, is designed to detect and intercept short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase at high altitudes of 40 to 150 km. Although missiles are easily transportable by sea, the radar detection range of MD systems is limited. And that is why the United States is keen on expanding its radar installation sites.

South Korea’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo has already signaled support for THAAD deployment in Korea. “It would help to deter North Korea’s nukes and missiles and strengthen the security posture of the Korean peninsula,” he said on a television appearance on July 20.

But given the proximity of North Korea, writes Gregory Elich, “a THAAD battery would make little sense from the South Korean perspective.” He quotes a Korean official who spoke on condition of anonymity – “In an environment like the Korean Peninsula where firing ranges are so short, the most effective missile defense system is low-altitude defense. We’re not participating in any system for high-altitude defense.”

“Nor would a high-altitude ballistic missile be North Korea’s first weapon of choice, when low or medium-altitude missiles would be airborne for a far shorter period, thus making them more difficult to shoot down,” adds Elich, “A THAAD battery in South Korea, however, would make an inviting target for Chinese missiles in any conflict between the United States and China.“

The South Korean Defense Ministry says that THAAD deployment in Korea does not automatically mean South Korea is participating in the U.S. MD system. Furthermore, it says, “If THAAD is deployed in Korea, its operation will be confined to the Korean peninsula and has nothing to do with China.”

But like Elich, Solidarity for Peace and Reunification in Korea (SPARK) analyst Ko Young-dae is unconvinced. “The AN/TPY-2 X-band radar that’s part of the THAAD battery can track ballistic missiles launched in northeast China – Shanghai, Beijing, or Dalian, for example – towards continental United States, or U.S. bases in Hawaii, Guam, South Korea or Okinawa, and provide early warning to the United States and Japan,” he says. This will incapacitate China’s deterrence capability against the United States and Japan, he argues, and inevitably worsen South Korea-China relations.

Furthermore, says Ko, “If THAAD is deployed in Korea, even if it is operated by U.S. forces and not South Korean forces, South Korea becomes an outpost for information-gathering and operation of the U.S. MD system.”

China and Russia Warn ‘Arms Race in Northeast Asia’

China has voiced strong concern about possible THAAD deployment in Korea. China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency warned on May 29, “South Korea will sacrifice its fast-developing relations with China.” And Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in June, “Deploying missile defense on the Korean peninsula would not be in the interest of regional stability or strategic balance.”

Russia joined China in denouncing the U.S. plan. In a comment issued on July 24, 2014, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the following-

The fact should not be disregarded that this in fact means that the geography of US global anti-missile defenses is expanding and its elements will now be present in the South Korean land. Such events will inevitably negatively affect the strategic situation in the region, and could provoke the armament race in North-East Asia and create additional complications for the resolution of the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula. Speaking more at large, this will certainly negatively affect global strategic stability, which the United States continues to disrupt unilaterally by creating a global missile defense shield and by armaments control processes.

The U.S. government has denied Russia’s claims that THAAD deployment in Korea would be aimed at Russia. Nonetheless, the THAAD X-band radar’s detection range of 1000 km would include, if deployed in South Korea, far eastern Russia, including Vladivostok.

The issue of THAAD deployment in South Korea will likely reemerge as a hot-button issue when Mark Lippert, missile defense expert and Obama’s nominee for ambassador to South Korea, comes to town. And it could become fuel for Cold War-like hostilities in Northeast Asia.

The Park Geun-hye government, caught between the United States, its traditional benefactor, and China, its largest trading partner, needs to choose wisely and consider that ‘interoperability’ could be just a sugar-coated term for intervention.

FIRE TIME

I started bringing in some wood today because the temperatures are cooling off and I wanted to fill up the wood holders in the house. Tonight I am going to sit out in the back yard with a fire going and I called MB and asked her to bring some beer on her way home from work. Might as well start thinking and acting like I am on vacation.

The summer this year has gone by fast and has been much cooler than the past couple of years. This summer felt more like the Maine summers we experienced after moving here in 2003.

I had a 90-minute massage today, my birthday present, finally getting around to doing it a month late. During the massage I was seeing white light and thinking about how we don't use our brains to their fullest capacity. I was imagining being in tune with the universal energy field.

Besides the blog hits I get from the US today's top source for blog hits was Ukraine. Earlier in the week it was the Netherlands. So in honor of Ukraine readers I thought I'd post a few tidbits from the Vineyard of the Saker:

The
Ukies are losing, badly. All the reports from Novorussian sources
agree that the Ukie forces are either surrounded or in full retreat.
But Ukies sources also confirm this. In Kiev, angry demonstrations by
nationalists accuse the military high command of minimizing the real
casualty figures, of having abandoned the forces fighting in the
Donbass. Even Oleg Liashko has stated that the Ukie forces have been
"betrayed". Demonstrations have taken place in from of the Ukie General
Staff which many Right Sector [nationalist] protesters which are demanding the
creation of a "generals battalion" which would be formed of only
generals who would be sent to fight personally (an excellent idea, which
I fully approve of!). Others are also demanding the resignation of the
Ukie Minister of Defense. Ukrainian woman are regularly stopping
military convoys on the roads, often by standing or lying down in front
of trucks, to prevent their men from being sent to death. Entire Ukie
battalions are deserting from the front and Special Forces [Nazi's] are sent to
stop them. Apparently, the Ukie police is afraid to arrest the soldiers
for desertion because of their large numbers.

NO EVIDENCE OF RUSSIAN INVASION

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday addressed eastern Ukrainian
“self-defense” forces, urging them to open a humanitarian corridor that
allows surrounded Ukrainian soldiers to withdraw safely. The plea came
the day after President Petro Poroshenko accused Moscow of invading his
country, and only hours after US President Barack Obama placed the
responsibility for the crisis squarely on Russia. RT’s Manila Chan and
Paula Slier have the latest on the quickly moving situation.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

NATO SECURITY STATE ADVANCING ON RUSSIA

The President of Ukraine (Poroshenko) has accused Russia of deploying troops in East
Ukraine. That's as anti-government self-defense forces launch a counter-offensive and
advance on key areas in the southeast. RT is joined by Tony Gosling,
an investigative journalist on the unfolding Ukrainian crisis.

POOR, POOR POROSHENKO

Poor
poor
Poroshenko
the chocolate king
oligarch
from Ukraine
made ruler
by US-NATO

His job?
"to do what
he's told"

Ukraine
is an instrument
to start war
with Russia

Reports in recent daysRussia invadesUkraine
come as self-defense forces
in the east are defeating
Kiev's Nazi-backed army

US-NATO needs pretext
"to protect and defend"
their project
in Ukraine
a NATO base
right on the Russian border
would be ideal

Final solution
is balkanization of Russia
break it into pieces
so fossil fuel extraction
corporations
can get at their nat gas
and the resources
in the Arctic
Russia has such a
long border
with Arctic

See the writing
on the wall?

Poroshenko
a drunk sadist
killing his own people
angry when they
defend themselves
doing the work
for Mr. Big
Poroshenko
is a bag man
easily expendable

We have one
like him
here in Maine
our Gov. LePage
an alcoholic
bag man
for the corporate
money machine
attacks the poor
destroys environment
pits one against
the other
a cruel and
bitter man
soul long ago
drowned

Poor
poor
Poroshenko

Poor
poor
LePage

Both
fat cats
who were given
the acting roles
of their life
just follow the script

MAKE A VIDEO AND WIN TRIP TO KYOTO

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

BLOCKING THE DRONE BASE IN NEW YORK

Mary Anne Grady Flores, a 58-year-old grandmother of three, was
sentenced to a year in jail after photographing an anti-drone protest
outside a military base near her home. While she waits on appeal, Grady
Flores and her fellow protestors speak on the dangers of drone warfare,
the right to dissent, and what she’ll do next.

NATO MEETING TO PLAN MORE WAR

NATO holds its annual war making confab in Wales on August 30 - September 5. It's evident to me that NATO is the global military arm of corporate capital - with the US running it all through their massive satellite war fighting infrastructure. Protests and a 'counter summit' are being organized by a coalition of peace groups worldwide. See more here

Under the pretext of an 'overt' Russian threat, NATO is pushing for a
‘readiness action plan’ that will bring the Cold War military bloc
closer to Russian borders than ever - even despite objections from some
NATO members. James Corbett, editor of the Corbett Report, an
independent Japan-based news outlet, gave his perspective on the matter.

FIRST ACTIVIST IN SPACE?

Speaking at Kennedy Space Center protest in Florida in 1990

I had a beer with Regis Tremblay yesterday at our usual spot here in Bath. He lives just over the bridge on the other side of the Kennebec River that separates our two towns. He handed me back the photo above that he had scanned for inclusion in an interview he recently filmed. He'd doing a series of short video spots with veterans talking about how their experiences in the military turned them into peaceniks.

This photo was taken at a protest I organized in 1990 while working with the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice. On that occasion we were protesting the coming NASA launch of the Ulysses space probe that carried a large payload of deadly plutonium-238. When I arrived for the protest a friend pulled me aside and said he got ahold of this NASA flight suit and suggested I put it on. So I did.

I began the space center rally by saying that NASA had recently announced a new program called "Activist in space" similar to their ill-fated "Teacher in space" flight that blew up just after launch. I told the crowd that I had applied to be the first activist in space and had surprisingly been selected for the program. But there is just one problem.... NASA was only providing me with a one-way ticket.... I said it with a straight face and some didn't get the joke and thought I was serious. I guess I watched too much Jack Benny as a kid.

I'm currently experiencing a bit of psychic overload. It's been a hectic and draining summer and I've yet to have any real break. I've only been swimming once. No vacation or time off to speak of. The wrenching reality of Ukraine-Gaza-Ferguson have kept me riding the emotional roller coaster. I did start taking a yoga class this week for the first time ever. A friend here in Bath teaches yoga and talked me into giving it a try. I enjoyed the first class and I'm going to stick with it. I need to do something for myself that will help clear my head and keep my body flexible as I get older and stiffer.

MB and I were supposed to go on vacation next week. A friend has a camp on an island in the middle of a lake here in Maine and invited us to spend a week there. I was so looking forward to the daily swim. But then I got a letter from the court in Syracuse, New York calling me for an appearance about my April 2013 drone protest arrest at Hancock Air Field. So that shot a hole in our vacation plans as we'll eat up several days driving there and back.

Sometimes people ask me how I keep doing this kind of work without burning out. I like to remind folks that I really wanted to be a baseball or basketball coach but could not ignore America's endless imperial wars and their impact back here at home. I wouldn't dare turn my back on Gaza or Ferguson or the people being shelled in eastern Ukraine? I just couldn't look the other way but the level of energy spent does take a toll on the heart, mind, and body over time.

I read alot and watch ball games as my escape. It seems as though I have an unquenchable thirst to learn and to discover the truth about what is going on. I was not the brightest student in high school - much too busy working to help support my dysfunctional family to worry about studying. I've always loved to learn.... but with learning comes responsibility - at least for me it does - and this is the life I've made for myself. I have no regrets at all but I do want to go swimming.

ISIS: AN EXCUSE FOR WAR WITH SYRIA

The US is further ramping up its involvement in the Levant as the
Islamic State threat grows. On Tuesday, the Obama administration
revealed it will conduct surveillance flights over Syria to monitor the
radical jihadists that have taken control of large portions of the
country. Longtime foes, the US and Syria both announced they are not
working together on the operation, and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem
warned that while surveillance is acceptable, unilateral strikes will
be viewed as acts of aggression. Matt Southworth of the Friends
Committee on National Legislation speaks with RT’s Manila Chan on the
expanding conflict.

Monday, August 25, 2014

RUSH HOUR QUEUE

ARMORED UP

Sunday, August 24, 2014

SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA CREATES CONSEQUENCES FOR EU FARMERS

Russia's ban on western food products, in response to sanctions from the
EU may deal a nearly 7 billion euro blow to the European Union every
year. That's according to new survey by a Dutch banking corporation.
RT's Peter Oliver reports.

You'd think that Europe would wise up and stop following the US over the cliff.....